Tabloid Headline: Huge Rats found in England

Originally posted by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


Someone has reportedly said that these could have been bought in from Africa or South America but i'll hold judgement.

That is what I was thinking if they are real. Here in the US we are having the same problem, but with wild pigs. Some hunters let Russian boars loose to breed and now we have 400 plus pounders running around that are extremely smart, fast and mean...hehe

[edit on 20-8-2010 by Xtrozero]

reply to post by berenike


Well, whether the article mentioned them doing any harm or not..unfortunately for both them and us, they do plenty of harm.

For one thing they carry all sorts of diseases. Approximately 14 nasty and often fatal diseases can and often are transmitted to humans.

Weils disease is a deadly one, caught by contact with rats urine or droppings, there are other problems with these creatures apart from the fatal diseases they spread. They kill and steal livestock, they damage property, they have even been known to attack young children and babies.

We all know about the deadly diseases carried by them via their parasitic fleas and ticks that killed millions of people.

The domesticated, (non wild) rat variety can and do make quite good pets, if looked after properly, but these wild, disease causing, bacteria infested, flea bitten ones have to be controlled, for the sake of public health.

I don't hunt, am against animal cruelty, and generally love animals and believe they have a right to live...but even i see these are a real danger to us, and have to be dealt with.

Whether it's our fault or not is beside the point at this point in time. Humans are not going to change their habits for the sake of infested wild rats, rightly or wrongly.

Originally posted by neformore
I work in Bradford and - suprise - this popped up in the local paper today

Ravenscliffe residents say giant rat claims are 'a load of rubbish'

Claims that giant rats are plaguing a Bradford estate have been rubbished by community leaders and Bradford Council’s pest control chief.

A report alleging monster two-and-a-half-foot rats had been seen in Ravenscliffe was published yesterday by national tabloid The Sun.

You have to remember that the Sun "newspaper" has more in common with what you wipe your backside on than anything offering real news

So what abouit the reports from residents in the area and on the Estate? Are they lying?

I've been reading through these posts and i gotta say i dont believe some of you are defending rats and even going so far as to say you'd like one of these big rats as a pet.... these rats are horrendous, huge nasty things which carry diseases... remember that...

Originally posted by spikey
reply to post by berenike

 

For one thing they carry all sorts of diseases. Approximately 14 nasty and often fatal diseases can and often are transmitted to humans.

Weils disease is a deadly one, caught by contact with rats urine or droppings, there are other problems with these creatures apart from the fatal diseases they spread. They kill and steal livestock, they damage property, they have even been known to attack young children and babies.

We all know about the deadly diseases carried by them via their parasitic fleas and ticks that killed millions of people.

The domesticated, (non wild) rat variety can and do make quite good pets, if looked after properly, but these wild, disease causing, bacteria infested, flea bitten ones have to be controlled, for the sake of public health.

Unfortunately, humans spread and carry diseases, too. Sometimes deliberately.

Humans also steal livestock, damage property and, deplorably, attack young children and babies. I stand by what I said before - all the crimes we accuse rats of are likely to be perpetrated by people too. People who don't have the excuse of not knowing any better.

There are many bacteria infested, flea bitten creatures in the world, not all of them animals, and I don't think rats deserve be singled out.

We're all born into this world in the same way and I don't necessarily believe that one species, ours, has the right to monopolise it.

They find similar sized sewer rats in cities like Boston and NYC. Maybe not 30in but along the lines of 20in- 2ft. They seriously get huge.

... But maybe that's just an urban legend.

[edit on 8/20/10 by MoothyKnight]

How about culling all the people carrying deadly diseases.

That would be more logical.

Originally posted by berenike
There are many bacteria infested, flea bitten creatures in the world, not all of them animals, and I don't think rats deserve be singled out.

Well if a 30 inch rat lived under my house I'm going to single him out and we can just say survival of the fittest to keep it within the just laws of nature.

reply to post by Xtrozero
i knew of a guy that that was hunting those
big boars with a dog and a bowie knife.
the dog would clamp on the nose
and he would come round back and gut him.
then there was the 12 year old in georgia that shot that 1200 lb hogzilla.

it is when rats disappear that plague contaminates humans

go ahead, exterminate all rats and see the result (good luck)

edit to say it with different words: yes the truth is that they are protecting us from the disease they carry. if they are not here anymore, the virus and bacteria will be looking for other host : us. That's how all the big plague tragedies occured.

[edit on 20-8-2010 by ::.mika.::]

OMG!

ITS "BEN"!

no, no. wait.

FOOD OF THE GODS!!!!!

reply to post by Xtrozero


You're in trouble if the rat turns out to be the fittest


**********


Here is an interesting analysis of the Black Death and its effects and possible causes:

hnn.us...



[edit on 21-8-2010 by berenike]

With all of the diseases and how fast they can reproduce, I am sure that it wouldn't take long for us to find out just how quickly they would turn into a very serious problem if we let them all live.

Originally posted by ::.mika.::
it is when rats disappear that plague contaminates humans

go ahead, exterminate all rats and see the result (good luck)

edit to say it with different words: yes the truth is that they are protecting us from the disease they carry. if they are not here anymore, the virus and bacteria will be looking for other host : us. That's how all the big plague tragedies occured.

[edit on 20-8-2010 by ::.mika.::]

No rats in my abode.

Also no plague.

What gives???

Okay, now I see your edit. Did you know that the primary vector for bubonic plague in the western United States are squirrels? Fleas are the culprits that infect the rats and squirrels. So if there are no rats to infect, you think we will be over-run with fleas on our bodies? Actually the fewer animals in your home, the smaller your chances of having fleas.

Rats this size? man rats are intelligent animals... I live in NYC and I have encountered rats who upon seeing me walk toward them, instead of running, actually step aside and let me pass.... lol shouldnt we be asking to speak to their leader? lol

reply to post by Dr Slim


Beware of any animal without a sphincter muscle !

If every human dropped dead tomorrow , the world rat population would quickly follow ....

...... that is after they had gorged themselves on our corpses .

www.sthelensstar.co.uk...

my home town has a resident giant rat. Although the experts think it's actually "a Quokka, a small marsupial that early explorers mistook for a giant rat."

Although whatever it is... it's been scaring residents since 2002

www.sthelensstar.co.uk...

List of articles relating to the issue.

It was definitely some kind of overgrown rat creature but somehow looked less aggressive than an ordinary rat. I mean I couldn't have been more than 10 feet away from it and I could see it quite clearly sniffing the air. I looked around to see if anyone else was about who I could call to, but the place seemed virtually deserted and there was hardly any traffic on the main road. At that moment it suddenly occurred to me that I had a sketch book in my possession and so I decided to see if I could get a quick sketch of it while it sat so still.

I edged closer, slowly so as not to frighten the thing away, although I have to say it was probably me that was the most frightened creature at that time. I got to within about seven or eight feet of it and decided that was close enough.

It was only when I took out my new sketch pad that I realised that even though I had a sketch book, a pencil sharpener and an eraser, I had not actually purchased a pencil. But I always keep a small black felt tip pen in my top shirt pocket to use for filling out my Lotto form.

Using a less than satisfactory drawing implement I sketched as fast as I could trying to get its main features down on paper before it ran off. Its tail seemed a lot shorter than the other rats that I had seen and it was though it had lost half of it. Luckily there was a discarded 'can of pop' right in front of it which helped me to gauge its scale which, as my drawing shows was much larger than a normal rat.